“Let’s call it here for today. Tomorrow I’ll head to the taxi company to check whether any cabs passed through that time window and review their dashcam footage — you finish canvassing the rest of the area.”
“Yes.”
Hyeonho answered Jaeho’s instructions with a crisp nod. Jaeho offered to drive, climbing into the driver’s seat, which left Hyeonho free to settle into the passenger seat and jot down a quick summary of what needed to be checked tomorrow.
He still had to track down the part-timer he’d missed at the PC café, and he needed to get the owner of the neighborhood convenience store to cooperate. Hyeonho was scrawling through his to-do list in his black notebook when he glanced at the time on the dashboard. It had just passed 7:20 in the evening.
Do Huiwon told me to come by the café. It was an awkward time relative to the 8 o’clock dinner they’d agreed on. If I get back to the precinct, say hi to the seniors, and tidy a few things up, I’ll probably end up past 8.
Hyeonho picked up his phone and sent Huiwon a message.
— I might be a bit late — is that okay?
The 1 disappeared almost immediately. He probably isn’t, but — Hyeonho found himself wondering whether Huiwon had been closing up alone and waiting for his message. Their plans had been loosely set, after all.
[How late?]
— Not sure. If it runs long, maybe about 30 more minutes.
[Come as fast as you can.]
Is he actually waiting for me? The reply gave him that impression — then, reasonably, Hyeonho suspected Huiwon had already picked out something expensive off the menu and was sitting there waiting.
By the time they got back to the precinct, it was nearly 8 o’clock. Hyeonho did a quick wrap-up of his things and bowed greetings to the seniors who’d been on a different shift. He was in the middle of giving a final bow to Kim Jaeho, who’d gone out canvassing with him that day, when —
“Hey. Hold on a second. Give me the address of that cake place.”
Jaeho, who had been rushing around muttering that it was already past the time he needed to pick up his son, suddenly grabbed Hyeonho.
“The cake place?”
“Yeah. The one you brought in last time.”
“Ah, right. I’m headed there now — do you want to come?”
Jaeho wasted no time hurrying after Kang Hyeonho. He was walking so fast Hyeonho nearly had to jog to keep up. Even as they walked, he kept checking his phone for the time. It seemed like he was trying to pick up a cake for his son, who must have been waiting alone after being picked up late from wherever he went after school.
Tesoro was quiet by the time they walked in together. Only Huiwon was there, mid-close, eyes widening as he looked back and forth between Hyeonho and Jaeho.
Oh. Right. It was closing time — would there even be any cake left? The obvious fact he’d overlooked in his rush came back to him belatedly. There was no reason any cake would still be available this far past closing. Wasn’t this the cake shop that had people lining up these days? Sure enough, the cake showcase was completely empty. Jaeho’s gaze settled on it too.
“Ah…….”
Jaeho let out a deflated sound and furrowed his brow. Hyeonho felt a pang of sympathy thinking about the child waiting alone for his father — enough to make him scratch the back of his neck. I should’ve asked Huiwon about cakes when I messaged him earlier. The regret came a little too late.
“Are you here for cake?”
Huiwon, who had been watching them from a distance, stepped in. Hyeonho quickly nodded on Jaeho’s behalf. He’d hoped Huiwon might sense the weight of the situation. But from Huiwon’s perspective, having no idea about any of it, the sight of two large men standing there looking utterly bereft over an empty cake showcase must have seemed absurd.
Sure enough, Huiwon narrowed his eyes, and for a moment it looked like he was going to walk away — but a moment later, he disappeared through a small door that appeared to lead to a workroom, then returned with two slices of cake and set them in front of Hyeonho and Jaeho. One was pure white, the other a pale pink.
“The white one is a vanilla mousse and white chocolate base, and the pink one next to it has raspberry compote in it — would either of those work?”
Jaeho didn’t even need to be asked — he was already pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. A rare expression of relief spread across his face.
“Thank you. I’m ahead of you — I’ve got to run.”
Cake box in hand, Jaeho had no more time to spare and hurried out of Tesoro. He was already walking briskly away from the café when he checked his phone and broke into a run.
“Is there anything I can help with to close up?”
Hyeonho shifted his gaze from watching Jaeho to Huiwon, who shook his head and gestured with his chin toward the corner seat. Hyeonho settled into the table in the corner of the café, now familiar with the spot.
Good thing there was cake left, he thought, watching people pass by outside — and then Huiwon came over and set a wide white plate on the table in front of him. The cake on it was bright yellow.
“What’s this?”
“This is our new spring item. Inspired by for…sythia.”
“Sounded like you hesitated a second there — something about how it sounds, right?”
Pretty sure he cut himself off before ‘dog.’ Hyeonho gave him a suspicious look and chuckled, then dropped his gaze to the cake — and reflexively paused. It certainly looked appetizing, but thinking about the sweetness that would hit the tip of his tongue made his hand reluctant to move.
Why does he keep giving me cake……. These aren’t cheap either. Does the owner know?
As he stalled without eating, Huiwon, watching him, said, “It’s not sweet,” in a reassuring tone. At that, Hyeonho cut a very small piece and put it in his mouth.
It was genuinely different from the cloyingly sweet cakes he’d had before. It wasn’t very sweet at all — there was a mild, pleasant hint of kabocha squash, and the texture that dissolved softly in his mouth was lovely.
“This is good.”
“It’s been getting a great response. I released three new items this spring. The white cake from earlier was inspired by magnolias, the pink one is cherry blossoms, and this one is forsythia.”
“Feels like spring.”
Hyeonho naturally took another bite. He was hungry too, and this time he cut a generous piece and pushed it into his mouth — at which point Huiwon’s voice, watching him, went up half a notch.
“It sells out first thing in the morning. Customers say it’s getting tagged a lot on social media too.”
“So you invited me to the café to show off.”
“I did not.”
“That was showing off, just now.”
It wasn’t. Huiwon threw his shoulders up and snapped back.
“I made it based on the photos you sent, so — no. Anyway, it’s not showing off.”
Huiwon said it several times over. It’s more than worth showing off, though. Watching Huiwon insist and insist made the laughter slip out of him again. Sure, if that’s what you say. Hyeonho finished off the rest of the cake and replied.
“Let’s just go eat. I’m hungry.”
“Want to go there?”
What Hyeonho pointed to was a street-side pojangmacha. Less a suggestion than a destination — from the moment they’d stepped out of Tesoro, he’d been leading Huiwon here. Inside, plenty of people were already settled in, flushed red, raising their glasses.
“Do you eat gizzards?”
Hyeonho asked the moment they stepped inside. Huiwon squinted one eye with a look that said he wasn’t impressed.
Gizzards…… He’d never tried them, and they weren’t something he’d ever particularly wanted to. Huiwon shook his head and looked over the menu, which was almost entirely drinking food. I shouldn’t have come in here. From the outside it had looked lively enough that he’d followed along, but now that he was inside, the menu and the general state of hygiene weren’t exactly winning him over. Should I just say we should leave? The thought crossed his mind.
Huiwon was still wavering when he looked at Hyeonho’s face and pressed his lips together. Because Hyeonho was scanning the menu like someone who’d just been let loose in paradise, then looking around at what the people nearby were eating. Everything on the table looks weird — what’s there to be so excited about?
“I’ll have udon.”
Huiwon picked what looked like the most reasonable option with zero enthusiasm on his face. In dramas and movies, the leads always ended up somewhere like this, drinking and eating udon — so he figured he’d at least see what the fuss was about.
“Nothing else?”
Hyeonho tapped the menu with his fingertip as if it were the most obvious thing. Huiwon shook his head. That was it, final answer. He just wanted to eat the udon quickly and go home. He didn’t like this place at all.
This is what you get when Kang Hyeonho picks the venue.
He made a mental note: from now on, he would always be the one choosing where they ate.
“That’s it.”
“It’s good here though. Want me to order for you?”
Hyeonho called out to the Auntie with easy familiarity, eyes curving into a smile. The Auntie recognized him right away and greeted him with, “Oh, our young man’s here! Haven’t seen you in a while!” He was clearly a regular. Now that Huiwon thought about it, this place seemed like exactly Hyeonho’s kind of spot.
